First my condolences goes to the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones to this preventable drowning and fires. May this be the last time our leaders murder our own people through their bad leadership.
So many folks have asked my opinion about fixing the problem in GHANA after reading my comments on facebook. I propose we start a project I call the NEHEMIAH PROJECT. Very simple title so every Ghanaian can understand. this is not the 10 commandments so it can be modified. I call it Nehemiah Project because Nehemiah rebuilt Jerusalem and reinstated Mosaic laws that benefitted his people like cancellation of debts and ending servitude contracts that where overdue, interest free loans and gleaning. Mind you, it's the principle that counts. Nehemiah even refused a full salary and his daily share as a governor, and that's the kind of leadership our nation needs. Sacrificial leaders.
This was my facebook comments that sparked the debate.
Our nation doesn't need prayers. the west didn't build their infrastructure through prayers. this flooding and deaths can happen next year if we don't fix our nation. Prayers is not a substitute for good governance. the nation is grinding to a halt because of rain. common rain. shame on us. the west tends to intellectualize foolishness, and we Africans tend to spiritualize foolishness. am sad and angry at the same time. me feelings ay3 basaaa!!!!
Remember that this pointers are not for the faint hearted. So let's begin;
1. Have a referendum to end the 4th republic. because it's constitution is very idealistic. with it should go parliament forever, ask the layman on the streets what parliament does. And they don't even know. Ghana has more 275 parliamentary seats whiles the whole continent of America has only a 100 senators. WHY??? How many deputy ministers does some of our ministries have? The waste is too much. A small nation needs a small government. I see our present form of government as a money laundering scheme. One party complains until they get into power.
2. We should write down a pragmatic infrustractural program for the whole nation-NEHEMIAH PROJECT. For example; what infrastructures should a village have? also what amenities should every town and city have in our nation? So for an example; every village should have a school, roads, a clinic with 1 nurse etc. Every town should have a bank, high school, police station, and every city should have .... etc. So we then build our educational system to meet these needs. The details can be worked out with planners. We can truly build a nation of the future with this Nehemiah Project principle.
But the question is how many villages, towns, and cities do we have in Ghana? We don't know because there's no planning. With a grand project like this, people might not be so eager to leave the villages anymore, thus building our nation through farming which is the backbone of every strong nation. Instead of selling all our village lands to foreigners these days. The journey that takes me 1 hour in Holland will take me 4 hours in Ghana with the same kilometres. And why do politicians make bad roads then they in-turn buy 4 wheel drives for themselves and their families whiles we suffer with simple cars? It just doesn't make sense.
3. We have an interim council who will oversee this NEHEMIAH PROJECT. We can give them 10 years at least. this council should be made of sociologists, politicians, thinkers alike and it should be a free service they give to their nation.
It's undeniable that the best run services in Ghana today is churches. So what can we learn from them? Can the pastors help? Lets put together people of character and righteousness (do the right thing), with less talking and more action. The orthodox churches are in almost every village in Ghana even before the birth of our nation. Can we learn something from them?
The principle here is there's an inherent way things can be done that works well for us. The west might not like it but if it works it works. We have become so bent on looking outside the box as if our own box has nothing to offer.
4. We raise additional taxes with our traditional nnɔboa system, thus at least half of the funds for the project can be raised that way. Every village in Ghana has ways of raising money for projects. lets tap into that. Why we are so blind to what works for us as Africans is beyond me. With one announcement from one king like the Asantehene, Yaana, Okyehene, Ga Mantsɛ, etc, they can rally more hands and labor than all the parliamentary people put together.
During the reign of King Frederick William III of Prussia, he found himself in trouble. Wars had been costly, and in trying to build the nation, he was seriously short of finances. He couldn’t disappoint his people, and to capitulate to the enemy was unthinkable. After careful reflection, he decided to ask the women of Prussia to bring their jewelry of gold and silver to be melted down for their country. For each ornament received, he determined to exchange a decoration of bronze or iron as a symbol of his gratitude. Each decoration would be inscribed, “I gave gold for iron, 18l3. The response was overwhelming. Even more important, these women prized their gifts from the king more highly than their former jewelry. The reason, of course, is clear. The decorations were proof that they had sacrificed for their king. Indeed, it became unfashionable to wear jewelry, and thus was established the Order of the Iron Cross. Members wore no ornaments except a cross of iron for all to see.
Even Moses asked for the people of Israel to give their possessions for the building of the tabernacle in the book Exodus. So we can apply this principle. But it will only work effectively if we have leaders we can trust.
5. All political parties dissolved and all hands on deck. One day Nkrumah's friend asked him, why he was dissolving all political parties and adopting a one party state. He replied, "I have built industries and great projects and almost all the people who can run them are in the opposition party whiles the industries are dying down". And when you look at our nation today, our problem is politics, one party waiting for the other to fail or make a mistake. This notion that "I'll wait for my party to come to power before I help my nation" is killing Ghana.
Lest we forget, at the time that Africa ruled the world, it wasn't with western democracy. I don't support a one party state, but we have to find a system of government that works well for us and not one that pleases the west. We have to admit to ourselves that the democratic experiment has failed the Ghanaian people.
One funny observation is any time someone speaks out about the problems of our nation, people tend to first listen to find out which political party he is in, without thinking whether what the person is saying is true or false. Everything we do is viewed through the lens of political partyism. A tragedy of the feeble minded. It used to be back then that people wanted to know your age when you spoke.
6. Return our educational system to the O and A level. Because that is what is recognised around the world. a nations education system is what plugs her into the global village. Her shared experiences with technology, ideas and innovations will make her a force among other nations. With the world being a global village we need an educational system that is recognisable by all educational institutions across the globe. When I applied for music university here in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, my SSS certificate wasn't respected at all. Because no one knew it. It had to be sent to somewhere to be translated to a universal context. I know friends who had to start their courses all over again because their private university certificates weren't recognised.
So now imagine what will become of the SHS certificates or whatever certificates they are giving out now. In my time at Legon Presec, text books with carriculums weren't even written yet but the SSS program had already began. My caucasian friends couldn't wrap their heads around this concept. They couldn't get it that this sought of thing can happen to a whole nation. Ghanaian students are some of the brightest in the world but we struggle to get into universities and colleges abroad. Almost every great university on the globe has at least one Ghanaian at the top of his/her class. But there's no production to show for our bright minds. We have become a nation that hates intellectualism. We are very good at frustrating people with knowledge. So they will rather clean a hotel in the west than sit in an office in their own nation.
One English headmaster replied "if you think education is expensive, try ignorance". Unless our education system is connected in the global context, we are still ignorant. This is one of the reasons our arts and culture doesn't make it outside our borders. Nigerians are always ready to take our arts and make it global. That's why most folks in the west think Azonto is from Naija. We create it, Naija exports it. How we get mad when we here things like these.
Though we call ourselves an English nation, our people still have to write an english exam at the British council. It only tells you the lack of confidence the Brits and other nations have in our educational system.
You have a thick skin if you made it this far. Congrats!!! What are other pointers you might have to add? Please leave your comments in the comment box below and share on your facebook and twitter pages.
Let's educate ourselves because only then will we live free as a people under God.
Thank you
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